Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai slammed for 'photoshoot' amidst Chennai floods; check viral video here

Chennai has been under red alert since the last two days as the city is witnessing the heaviest rainfall since the 2015 floods. The state of Tamil Nadu has also witnessed 44 percent above average rainfall. Amidst the downpour, Tamil Nadu Bhartiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai went to Kolathur to analyze the gravity of the flood. However, the BJP chief’s video went viral on Twitter and is being criticized by social media users for being nothing but a publicity stunt. The video shows Annamalai along with party member Karu Nagarajan, sitting in a boat and going through the flood waters. The party chief’s aides instruct the photographer to capture him in such an angle where he is visible. They also ask people who are walking nearby in the flood waters to move and give space so that Annamalai’s face can clearly be seen in the video. The videographer’s voice can also be heard, as he requests people to move and give way so that he can shoot. Take a look at the viral video here. The video was re-tweeted by users with the hashtag #GoatonBoat. In the 26-second video clip, K. Annamalai can also be heard talking to a woman and asking her to stay safe by going upstairs to escape the flood. Twitter users slammed Annamalai for using a boat to come and assess the situation. Several users accused the political leader of conducting a photoshoot in the natural disaster. He was also slammed by social media users for using a boat when he could have walked like an ordinary person. This was not the only tweet for which the politician was criticised. In a separate incident, Annamalai’s official Twitter account also shared a tweet of him a ssessing the flood situation, accusing Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin of not taking care of his constituency and being irresponsible towards the issues of water logging and flooding. The tweet was coupled with pictures of Annamalai sitting in a boat with a family who was rescued from the flood. However, twitter users soon began to analyse the pictures, pointing out that the family was rescued and was being taken to a camp, where they were met by K Annamalai and his team. The BJP leader went inside the boat and took pictures with the affected family. Users slammed Annamalai for promoting himself during the floods. In Tamil Nadu, 20 districts have been put on red alert due to the incessant rainfall. A further downpour between 150 and 200 mm is expected in Chennai within the next two days.